Fossil fuels have in the past provided the bulk of the world's energy needs. However, as the price of fossil fuels has increased and their supply decreased, increasing attention has been directed towards the development of alternate energy sources. One such alternate energy source is the solar collector which utilizes the energy from the sun to heat a transfer medium. The transfer medium is in turn circulated throughout a structure in various well-known ways to provide a heat source for the structure.
In order to achieve maximum efficiency from a solar collector, it is necessary that the solar collector be orientated in a predetermined position with respect to the position of the sun. It is, of course, appreciated that solar collectors are typically mounted on the roof of the structure to be heated and that roof slope and orientation may vary greatly from one structure to another. Therefore, it is imperative that the mounting apparatus utilized to mount a solar collector be adaptable so that solar collector orientation with respect to the position of the sun can be maintained notwithstanding changes in roof slope and orientation.
It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide solar collector mounting apparatus which will maintain solar collector orientation in a predetermined position with respect to the sun notwithstanding changes in mounting surface slope and orientation.
It is a further object of this invention to provide solar collector mounting apparatus which is inexpensive, readily manufactured and easily used.